Ok, so I have a pretty big enclosure that houses my two Veiled Chameleons , (male and female)....They do very well together, however, she is quite obviously preggo and won't drop the eggs..she had been digging for about two days...constantly even through the night and when I woke up this morning the whole had been covered over and ONE single egg lay on top of the soil?? weird... she is no longer digging, and still huge..so I removed the box and carefully searched for additional eggs..none. I placed the one egg in an incubator, replaced the box and removed the male chameleon from the enclosure for the whole day and she hasn't once returned to the soil box to dig?? Is this normal? any advice would help..
Veiled Chameleon EGG?
- Thread starter NHC
- Start date
Julirs
New Member
Hello NHC and welcome. You really should not be housing the two together. Even thought they are not fighting, they are most likely stressing each other, and the male will continuously breed the female decreasing her life span. A few questions-how large is the cage you are housing them in? How old are they? How big is your laying bucket? It may not be deep enough if she was digging and then quit.
I bought them only a few months ago in mid July at an expo. They were displayed together in a 4ft h x 3.5 w x 3 d mesh enclosure. I purchased the whole thing as it was displayed because I was told that they did very well together etc.. they were about 1year old when I got them. I added lots of foilage, a waterfall and a shoebox size laying bin...I haven't had any problems with them as of yet, but I do plan on seperating them immediately..wasn't sure if she wouldn't drop because of him or if maybe she was having a problem...and the ONE egg threw me off..
IMHO if they have been together for several months the female should have laid eggs before now. Its usually about 30 days after the mating that the female lays the eggs. Did she dig at all during the time you have had her before now?
There are too many "guesses" I could make about why she hasn't laid eggs (stress from the male being there, feeling that the site was not a safe place to lay them, etc.) but if she filled the hole in and tamped the soil down on top of the hole, then she must think she is done....so she could be eggbound. I think you need to get her to a vet right away.
There are too many "guesses" I could make about why she hasn't laid eggs (stress from the male being there, feeling that the site was not a safe place to lay them, etc.) but if she filled the hole in and tamped the soil down on top of the hole, then she must think she is done....so she could be eggbound. I think you need to get her to a vet right away.
From ONE to FIFTY!!
Soooo...I took the advice, removed the male and replaced the laying bin with a deeper one and waited....nothing all day yesterday or most of today...then about 3pm she headed down and started digging. My poor baby bust have beed literally ready to pop because she didnt even dig two inches in when "viola" !! 49 more eggs..50 total! Is that normal to have so many?...She was obviously exhausted and her back legs almost looked broken for several hours...I gave her lots of enriched hydro and she seems to be doing much better. I've removed the eggs and placed them in the incubator. Any advice on incubation or special care for moma?
Soooo...I took the advice, removed the male and replaced the laying bin with a deeper one and waited....nothing all day yesterday or most of today...then about 3pm she headed down and started digging. My poor baby bust have beed literally ready to pop because she didnt even dig two inches in when "viola" !! 49 more eggs..50 total! Is that normal to have so many?...She was obviously exhausted and her back legs almost looked broken for several hours...I gave her lots of enriched hydro and she seems to be doing much better. I've removed the eggs and placed them in the incubator. Any advice on incubation or special care for moma?
incubation?
Awesome...thanks so much for your advice!...as for the eggs? Ive read different things...should they be heated? humidity?...I have a friend that told me no heat or humidity for the first 2-3 months, then increase the heat to about 78-82 with low humidity for the second 2-3 months then increase the humidity for the last????? any suggestions?
Awesome...thanks so much for your advice!...as for the eggs? Ive read different things...should they be heated? humidity?...I have a friend that told me no heat or humidity for the first 2-3 months, then increase the heat to about 78-82 with low humidity for the second 2-3 months then increase the humidity for the last????? any suggestions?
I use shoebox sized tupperware-like containers. I put two very tiny holes in the lids. I fill them about half full of barely moist coarse grained vermiculite. To test the moisture level, take a fist full of it and squeeze it...if no more than a couple of drops of water comes out the moisture is right. I put shallow dents in rows about an inch apart in all directions in the vermiculite with my thumb. I place the eggs in the dents and put the lid on the containers. I "incubate" them at about 74F. Beads of moisture will form on the lids and walls of the containers....that's okay.
